My grey and a plastic golf ball

Question
I have an amazon grey, approx 20 years old.  My avian vet guesses Cecil is female based on pelvic bone exam.  I recently gave Cecil a plastic practice golf ball to play catch with.  Cecil has a cardboard box in the bottom of her cage she likes to hang out in.  Since i gave her the golf ball she spreads her wings around it and makes a squeeking noise.  Can't tell whether she is trying to pull it underneath her or she thinks she is mating with it.  Was wondering your thoughts as to what she thinks the ball represents ie: egg or mate


Thanks

Answer
Hi Karen,

It could be either or.  Since Cecil does not have a mate and you are not purposely trying to bring babies in the world, I seriously recommend you deter any hormonal, nesting, and mating behaviors.  Egg production and laying (even when infertile) is extremely taxing on a female bird.  On top of that, no matter the sex of the bird, a hormonal/nesty bird who does not ultimately get to court a mate (which could be you in her eyes) and reproduce with that mate can get frustrated which will bring about a whole myriad of issues both physically and behaviorally.

That cardboard box in the bottom of her cage?  Remove it immediately as she sees that as a nest.  Any shredding materials she may have in her cage, remove them as well.  Having these things alone can create egg laying and you do not want that to start.  Once it starts, in some birds, it's difficult to stop and can cause serious health risks (egg binding, peritonitis, chronic egg laying) which are most often fatal.  

Of course remove the ball and anything else she may see as an egg.  If she allows you to touch her, during the spring and summer months, try not to pet her on her back, under her wings (male/female sex organs are located in that area) or underneath where her vent is (the place she eliminates from).  If she regurgitates when near you, that's a sure sign she loves you and likely sees you as her mate.

Be sure she has plenty of toys (foraging, puzzle toys, softer wood toys to chew) to keep her occupied... as an occupied Grey mind is a healthy mind.   They're highly intelligent as you likely know and need to be intellectually challenged.

Despite where they were born, in a home or in the wild, they ALL are still wild animals and have instincts that will never go away.  The purpose of life for many living beings is ultimately to reproduce so parrots choose a mate, stay monogamous with that mate for life and then urged to reproduce with the one they love.  Even if this includes a human.  Steps must be taking to deter hormonal behavior, for her own safety and to prevent any potential behavioral problems in the future.  They do get frustrated when their instincts are telling them one thing but something totally different is happening (or not happening).  I believe this to be a major reason for plucking/feather destruction/mutilation in companion birds... wild parrots just do not pluck!  There are other causes for it; parasites, separation anxiety, other medical causes, neglect, a bad diet, ect.  but when all of those things have been ruled out - one should take a close look at the hormonal aspect of the birds life.

There are other things you can do to lessen her "urges".  To name a few, regulate the amount of day light she gets during the longer months by putting her to bed before dark and covering up her cage. Exercise is important - you can step her up on your hand and gently bring her downwards so she flaps her wings.  Do that a couple of times to get her blood flowing - but be sure to stop if she's panting at all.  Climbing is also great exercise - so if you don't already - get her a play gym to climb around on. Another important thing during anytime of the year is that she gets at least 10 - 12 hours of sleep (dark, uninterrupted) every single night or she can get sleep deprived.  

Do a google search on curbing parrot hormones and you'll find a wealth of information out there.  You may also want to join a parrot forum where you can seek out advice from others owned by parrots (:-)) and see what works for them.  I belong to a great site www.theperch.net (my username there is wondermomma) that personally, I think is the best forum on the net.  There are 5000 members and it's the most friendly, helpful, welcoming forum out there.  

I also recommend "For the Love of African Greys" by Bobbie Brinker.  To me, this is the African Grey bible!

On a final note, a pelvic exam is not a FOOL PROOF method of determining sex of a parrot.  It's known to be accurate - but also known to be inaccurate.  If you want to find out for sure, you should have a DNA blood test performed.  

Good luck and I hope this information helps you!